As electronic devices are becoming increasingly faster and more powerful, they are also becoming sleeker and smaller in size. Consumer preferences and demands tend to drive both of these trends toward faster and smaller. Electronic device makers are thus often faced with the challenges of incorporating the latest electronic chips and circuitry in their newest electronic device offerings, while doing so in the smallest volumes possible.
Amongst many factors to consider in this endeavor, electronic devices contain components that produce heat during normal operation. As such, fans, heat sinks, and other heat diversion components are a well-known and common part of the electronics landscape. As might be expected though, increasingly faster and more powerful chips and integrated circuitry can generate more heat than previous generations of electronics. Coupled with the desire to put these components into smaller overall volumes, this can create new challenges. Existing thermal management features and techniques can sometimes be inferior or weak in the face of increasing demands to account for more heat using less volume than before. Even where minimal thermal requirements are met for a given electronic device, the overall performance of the device can be enhanced where its generated heat is well dispersed beyond the minimums that are required.
Electromagnetic interference (“EMI”) shielding is also an important consideration for electronic device design. Accounting for this protection for the various electronic components within a device must still typically be made even as device size becomes more compact.
There is a need for improved heat dissipation and/or EMI shielding features and techniques in electronic devices.